Two North Dakota Youth Honored for Volunteerism at National Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C

Business Wire, May 5, 2008

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, Pays Tribute to Young Heroes as Part of Four-Day Recognition Events

WASHINGTON -- Two North Dakota students, Lauren Weigel, 17, of Bismarck and Phil Brockman, 14, of Thompson were honored in the nation's capital last night for their outstanding volunteer work during the presentation of The 2008 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. The two young people - along with 100 other top youth volunteers from across the country - received $1,000 awards as well as personal congratulations from Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, at the 13th annual award ceremony and gala dinner reception, held at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

Lauren and Phil were named the top high school and middle level youth volunteers in North Dakota last February. In addition to their cash awards, they received engraved silver medallions and an all-expense-paid trip with their parents to Washington, D.C., for this week's recognition events.

Conducted in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards were created 13 years ago by Prudential Financial, Inc. to encourage youth volunteerism and to identify and reward young role models. Since then, the program has honored more than 80,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level.

"Lauren and Phil are inspiring examples of young Americans who care deeply about the needs of others and who have taken the initiative to help meet those needs," said Prudential Chairman Arthur F. Ryan. "By honoring them, we hope not only to give them the recognition they so richly deserve, but also to inspire others to follow their example."

Lauren, a junior at St. Mary's Central High School, has raised $35,000 over the past eight years for an annual Minnesota motorcycle rally supporting pediatric brain tumor research, and last year helped organize a similar rally in North Dakota. Lauren was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was 8, and then suffered a stroke during a biopsy procedure and became partially paralyzed. While undergoing treatment and therapy that eventually enabled her to regain most of her abilities, she learned about the Ride for Kids, a motorcycle rally held every summer in Minnesota to raise money for brain tumor research. "I told my mom that I wanted to raise some money to help find a cure," she said.

Since she doesn't ride a motorcycle, Lauren opted to support the event by knocking on doors in her area and singing jingles - she wrote a new one every year - asking for donations. When a local motorcycle club heard about Lauren's jingles, the members invited her to a meeting that resulted in a decision to hold their own motorcycle rally. Lauren participated in all of the planning for the "Dakota Kids Cancer Ride," and she and her mother took charge of the promotional activities. The ride, held last August, drew 87 bikers and raised $4,700. "I do this because I consider it a miracle to be here, and I need to do my part to make more miracles happen," said Lauren. "I've been given another chance, and I need to make it count."

Phil, an eighth-grader at the PRB Homeschool, has worked to increase enthusiasm for math and science among young people over the past three years by coaching elementary school students for math competitions, and by writing math and science articles for a regional newspaper's teen page. "To some, math is an endless battle that makes no sense," said Phil. "I want people to see that math is much more like a soccer match than a battle - there are multiple ways of achieving the same goal, but most importantly, there is excitement in the process!"

Phil, a three-time state middle-school math champion, serves as co-coach and organizer for the Math Masters team at his former elementary school. His responsibilities include recruiting team members, preparing weekly problems for them to practice, and coaching them in math contests. Instead of using textbooks, he creates fun and engaging math games and activities to stoke his students' enthusiasm and improve their skills. Recently, Phil also helped revitalize a middle-school math club that was in danger of dissolving. In addition, Phil has written more than 20 articles for the teen page of the Grand Forks Herald, most of them about math or science topics. "Through my coaching and writing, I hope to make more people fans of math and problem-solving - skills that are utilized in all fields and aspects of life," said Phil.

Applications for the 2008 awards program were submitted last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and Volunteer Centers affiliated with the Points of Light & Hands On Network. The top middle level and high school applicants in each state and the District of Columbia were announced in February. These 102 State Honorees are in Washington this week with their parents for four days of special recognition events.

Ten of the 102 were named America's top ten youth volunteers for 2008 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters today. These National Honorees received additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies for the schools that nominated them, and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for charities of their choice. [The ceremony can be viewed at www.prudential.com/spirit.]